Submitting a Residence Permit Application and the Right to Work: Where the Critical Mistake Is Most Often Made
Submitting an application ≠ extending the right to work
One of the most common mistakes in the legalisation process is confusing the act of submitting an application with its legal effect.
The assumption “I have submitted the documents, therefore I can work” may seem intuitive, but it does not correspond to Polish law.
Submitting an application may legalise the stay, but it does not create or extend the right to work unless there is a separate, valid legal basis for employment.
Residence and work are two separate legal regimes
The right to stay in Poland and the right to perform work are governed by different procedures and may exist independently of each other.
Legal stay means that a foreigner has a valid basis to remain in Poland (a visa, a residence permit, or a stamp confirming the pending application).
Legal work means that a foreigner holds a specific title authorising employment under defined conditions.
For work to be lawful, both conditions must be met simultaneously.
The loss of either automatically results in illegal employment.
Passport stamp: what it actually means
A passport stamp appears exclusively in the residence procedure, when a foreigner personally submits an application for a residence permit or a single residence and work permit.
Its legal effect is limited:
- it confirms that the application was accepted without formal defects;
- it extends the legality of stay until a decision is issued.
❗ The stamp is not a work permit and does not extend any right to work.
When work may continue despite submitting an application
There are situations in which a foreigner continues working after submitting a residence application without violating the law.
However, this is not a “right derived from the stamp”.
Such cases are based on the continuity of an already existing work title that was valid on the date of submission and has not been interrupted.
These situations are narrow and strictly limited. Treating this exception as a general rule is one of the most frequent sources of violations.
Who submits the application and why it matters
Standard work permit (types A, B, C, etc.)
In this procedure:
- the applicant is always the employer;
- the permit is issued to the entity assigning work to a specific foreigner;
- the employee is not a party to the proceedings.
Even in a “renewal” procedure, the applicant is explicitly the entity assigning work to the foreigner.
As a result, the employee’s intention to “extend the permit” has no legal significance if the employer has not filed a new application and obtained a new decision.
Single residence and work permit
This is a residence procedure, therefore:
- the applicant is the foreigner;
- the employer submits only Appendix No. 1 with employment conditions;
- the decision is addressed to the foreigner, not the company.
In this procedure, the passport stamp:
- may legalise the stay;
- does not replace or extend the right to work if it has expired.
What happens when a work permit expires
A work permit is time-limited. Employment is lawful only:
- within the period specified in the permit;
- under the conditions defined in it.
If:
- the previous work permit has expired;
- a new one has not yet been issued;
then from the day following the expiry date:
- the right to work ceases;
- each day of work constitutes illegal employment,
even if:
- the application for a new permit was submitted on time;
- the procedure is pending for months;
- the foreigner remains legally in Poland (visa, residence card, or stamp).
Polish law does not provide an automatic “transitional status” for work permits.
The only exception that is often misunderstood
A specific exception applies exclusively to the scheme:
oświadczenie → work permit
If the application for a work permit was submitted on time, without formal defects, and the employment conditions are not worse than those declared, work may be considered legal between the expiry of the declaration and the issuance of the permit.
This rule:
- does not apply to “old permit → new permit” situations;
- does not apply to residence permits;
- does not create a general principle that “work is allowed because an application was submitted”.
Why violations are detected retrospectively
At the submission stage:
- only the formal completeness of documents is verified;
- actual day-to-day work is not analysed.
Later:
- authorities analyse periods retrospectively;
- each day of work is compared against the documents valid at that time.
As a result, a period that “seemed compliant” may later be classified as illegal employment, without the possibility of correction.
Conclusion
Submitting an application is a procedure, not an authorisation.
A passport stamp protects against illegal stay, but it does not extend the right to work.
The expiry of a work permit is a strict legal boundary after which employment without a new title becomes a violation, regardless of the pending application. Ignoring this boundary is one of the most common reasons foreigners lose residence permits, stability, and years of migration history.
Ukrainian version of this article
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